Daddy Dearest
by FatallyHonest
Summary: As Buffy continues to cope with her everyday world, an unexpected figure pops in from her past and brings to her attention a shocking surprise.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:  
  
Buffy strolled silently through the cemetery, feeling extremely bored. "There's always Spike." Buffy told herself. "No," she thought. "Spike equals badness."  
But isn't that what she wanted? The "badness" that Spike embodied? Thankfully, Buffy heard a snap coming from a nearby mausoleum and decided to divert her attention to the less self-deflating danger.  
"Great," Buffy thought. "Probably the sound of a giant slayer-killing demon snapping an innocent's neck. Must be my lucky day." Buffy wandered over to the small crypt and peered in through a small window. There were about 7 vamps and one D.O.A. who Buffy could swear used to be the T.A. for the Pop Culture class she tried to get into. At least she was before the suck-fest. "Well," Buffy thought. "I'm in a nice, suicidal mood. I can take them." The vamps were pretty pre-occupied with the catch-of-the-day and didn't notice her presence until the first among them was already dust. The vamps had mixed reaction as two of the fiends bolted straight away while the other four stayed and decided to fight. "I guess four-to-one is better than seven," she said smugly.   
Just as Buffy was about to lunge at one of the vamps that had encircled her, she heard the unexpected, yet unmistakable sound of a vamp being dusted and recognized a not totally welcome voice. "Not so fast luv'", the bleached vampire said smartly. "Make it two against three."   
Buffy rolled her eyes, trying to show some form of annoyance, even when she knew she was feeling none. "Fine Spike," she said. "Let's get this over with." She moved towards the first vamp and launched a kick at its temple, landing her booted-foot square on the target. The vamp snarled in retaliation and threw a punch at her groin, connecting solidly. Buffy crouched down low and swept the creature off its feet, quickly driving the stake through its heart as it hit the ground. She turned around to find only one vamp left, on the retreat from Spike. Buffy desperately wanted to get this over with, so to speed things up she took the advantage and staked the vamp from behind, looking through the collapsing ashes into Spike's eyes.  
She found desire when she looked into his eyes, and she knew what he wanted. This wasn't real. It wasn't real love or caring, just passion. At least that is what she told herself. Maybe she just wanted it to be passion, and nothing more. Spike didn't give her a chance to think about this as they took each other up in a kiss. The same sickening event that made Buffy so disgusted had happened again. Just as it always had been with the two, Buffy just couldn't resist Spike. Not for his love, but for the emotion he made her feel.

Xander stalked through the columns of graves, looking for a David Toten who had suffered "extreme neck trauma". He wasn't worried that this vampire would take him down, but he still longed that he had some company by his side so that the cemetery wouldn't feel so empty. "Hey Xand, wait up," an enthusiastic voice called from behind, so loud he heard the undead turn over in their graves. Be careful what you wish for, he grumbled to himself. Willow and Anya walked carelessly over mounds of dirt that served as grave-plots, completely destroying any hope he had to be stealthy.   
"Will, Ahn, I'm trying to be stealthy, secret-agent guy here and you're messing up the Xander mojo! Can you try to keep in down?"   
"Fine, fine," Anya said in an exasperating tone. "Just stay alive, because if you die before the wedding, believe you me I will make sure you end up in a Hell dimension planning seating charts for all eternity."   
"Ladies and gentlemen, my wife-to-be," Xander said with a mocking clapping of his hands. "Let's give her a round of applause. Now if you two don't mind, Buffy asked us to take a swing around the cemetery while she took the other fields of dead so she could get home to Dawn early. Is it just me, or does she seem a little distracted to you guys? She looks a little worn around the edges."   
"I guess slingin' burgers at the Doublemeat Palace has that kind of affect on a girl huh?" Willow said with a smile. The Wicca had gone a while without any magick and she intended to keep it that way. She reached into her bag and took out a bottle of water, a new obsession she had picked up while trying not to think about magics.   
"Well things are dead here, literally, and I have far better things to be doing with my time," Anya said with a sigh. "I still have to check the guest list, make sure the caterer has the correct orders, and double-check that the florist is bringing tiger-lilies and daisies."  
"Yeah, she's right Xand," Willow stated. "We better head back and see if Buffy got home yet. I don't like leaving Dawn alone after everything that's gone on. She really seemed a little shaken up after Buffy went all Invisible Gal on us."  
"With our luck, that was just the tip of the iceberg. Knowing those three nerds, they're aiming to sink the whole ship."

"Shut up, nerd-o!" Andrew screamed at Jonathan. "There is no way Batman could beat Wonder Woman. She had her Lasso of Truth and strength Batman couldn't dream of."  
"Are you kidding me!?!" Jonathan hurled back. "Batman is just some old rich dude that fights crime using gadgets and crap that he uses his big piles of money to get. He doesn't even have any superpowers! He's lamer than you are dweeb-o!"  
"Take that back, Jerk-athan!"  
"Fine, I do take it back. YOU'RE LAMER THAN HE IS!!" Apparently Andrew couldn't take anymore, as he rushed at Jonathan and tried to get him in a headlock, but neither could get an advantage.  
"Would you two both shut up!" a voice called from the other side of Warren's basement, where they were holding up because of their fear of the Slayer. Warren stalked out of the shadows of the underground room and glared out at the two nerds. "I swear you two are like a couple of five- year-olds. Just cut it, I almost have the launcher ready, so sit still and be quiet while daddy works. And by the way, Spawn could kick both their asses, so argument settled." 

Buffy rounded the corner to her house on Revello Drive and began to cry. She cried for everything. She cried for her mother: gone for over a year; for herself and her abusive - though not to her - relationship with what she called a "filthy" vampire; and for her whole life, seemingly so screwed up it was beyond repair. Gone were the days where she kept nothing hidden from her friends. They had their own lives and were actually happy. She was miserable and she didn't know how to stop it.   
Well, of course she knew how to stop it, but one thing kept her on this earth. Dawn. She was one thing that she had done marginally right. She had raised her when her mother died, and she was turning out well. But was that enough? Things were bad now. Really bad. In the sense of "house- about-to-be-repossessed-and-little-sister-taken-away" bad. She could end it all so easily. She didn't even have to do it intentionally. She could just slip up during a patrol or freeze up in the middle of a fight. She wanted to, but she couldn't. She couldn't leave Dawn in this horrible place, just like she couldn't stop this thing she had with Spike. She needed to protect her even if it meant enduring this world that was just too hard and solid. She needed to stay for... Out of nowhere, a vamp tackled her from behind and she went down hard. She rolled back onto her feet and launched a roundhouse at the undead's head. It ducked, but she already anticipated the move and followed up with another kick that landed a cracking blow against its temple. It turned tail and ran back the direction she had come and Buffy gave chase. It got about 7 yards before she launched herself into its back connecting her shoulder with its spine. They sized each other up for a few seconds and Buffy noticed it still had dirt on its suit and felt some very small measure of relief. "Great." She thought. "A newbie." It came at her punching wildly and she easily ducked the blows, kicking it hard in its lower back as it rushed by.   
"Just one slip up...." the thought kept echoing through her mind. "No," she thought. "Dawn needs me." She drew her stake and walked toward the crouching creature. It threw another wild punch, and as she ducked, she plunged the wooden weapon into the fiend's heart. It looked pitiful as it collapsed into nothingness in front of her. She was actually jealous of the soul that once resided in the shell that was her latest staking. It didn't have to deal with the nasties and "Big-Bads" of this world. She wanted that. She wanted that sweet release that gave her the right to leave behind the guilt she felt about wanting to leave her friends and family to fend for themselves.  
She wanted it, yet she knew she would never have it. In her moment of revelation, her thoughts were interrupted by a shriek from her house. Dawn she thought silently. She broke into a sprint as she overtook the sidewalk that led to her home. She got to the front walk and stopped dead in her tracks. As she saw what was going on, she found herself grasping for words. There stood a man and woman talking to Dawn, just walking out the front door, and at least one of the pair Buffy recognized on sight.   
"Oh my God!" Dawn shrieked. "Dad!" She lunged into Hank Summers's arms and relished the embrace of the man she had not seen in so many years. Hank Summers swung her around in his arms and turned to face his eldest daughter.   
"Buffy! There you are!" He said enthusiastically. "I like you both to meet Marcela." He motioned to the tanned and obviously implanted woman who stood next to him. "Guess what? We're getting married!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:  
  
As the shock faded off of Buffy's face she was able to utter a few words. "D-Dad?" she stuttered. She looked at the ground and tried to fully grasp the fact that the man that had been absent for so much of her life, her Dad was standing only a few yards in front of her. "You're getting married?!" She asked incredulously. "Again!?"  
"I know this is all very sudden honey, but we know it is the right thing for us. We met in Aruba a few months back while I was taking a break and working as shipper. I would have come back her sooner, but we just got so caught up in everything and I just couldn't come back yet. But I'm back now kiddo!" Buffy was unsure who he was talking to, as she had walked over to the porch and sat down on the front step, looking intensely at the floor. "So, where's your mother? I think I should tell her." Hank Summers said in a rush.  
Buffy face fell even further at the mention of her mother. How could he not have known? She thought. I left him like 11 messages at 3 different locations. What the hell am I going to say? "Dawnie, can you go inside for a sec, I just need to talk to Dad?"  
"But Buffy, he just got here and I think I should be he—"  
"Dawn, please don't argue, just do it, ok? We'll only be a minute.'  
"Fine," Dawn said dejectedly. "But come in real soon, ok? It's been like forever since I saw you."  
"Sure thing, kiddo, we'll be inside in a sec." He turned to his olive-skinned, brunette fiancé, Marcela, and talked to her in a low-tone. "Why don't you go inside and talk to Dawn, you know, get to know her a bit. It'll be good for the both of you."  
"Ok, honey!" She said chipper-ly. Too chipper-ly Buffy thought, as memories of Warren's robot-girlfriend April sprung into her mind. Marcela kissed him on the cheek and waved enthusiastically at Buffy, following Dawn into the Living Room, closing the front door behind them. Buffy pulled of her skullcap and ran her hand through her shoulder-length blonde hair.  
"Dad, we, uh, we need to talk." At this, fresh tears sprang to her eyes.  
  
"So, you're marrying my Dad, huh?" Dawn said as she surveyed the woman with an arched eyebrow. "Are those real?"  
"Are what real?" Marcela said with a shocked expression as she crossed her arms over her chest.  
"Those diamonds on the engagement ring, they real?" Dawn said, laughing inwardly, knowing that her question had really been directly at two other assets she had.  
"Oh, of course they are! Your father spared no expense on me."  
"Good to know that he buys you diamonds while our house is about to be repossessed." Dawn retorted.  
"Oh, I'm sure he didn't know anything about that," she said with a dazzling smile. "But now that he's back, I bet he'll help you all he can!"  
"I bet he will," Dawn mumbled angrily.  
"What was that?" Marcela asked with an inquiring look.  
"Oh, nothing," Dawn said with a smile. She wanted to get a bit of info on this woman, so she started the interrogation part of the interview. "So, where were you bo—"  
"You know, you have such pretty hair," Marcela interrupted, reaching over the coffee table and stroking Dawn's long, dirty-blonde hair.  
"Um, ok, thanks," Dawn said with a chuckle. "But whe—"  
"You know, I think we should braid it, what about you?!" At this, Dawn let out a deep sigh. It's going to be a long night she thought.  
  
Willow, Xander, and Anya, walked up the stone pathway to Buffy's house, quarreling amongst themselves about bride's-maid dresses and whether they should be blood-burlap and larvae. "Sorry Anya, but this is one gay gal who'll be going butch for the wedding. You're not getting me near anything bug-y, especially since I saw that worm-thing that ate Doublemeat workers for late-night snacks."  
"There is no way you are wearing anything other then what I choose for the brides-maids, even if you are the best-man." Anya remarked. "It's not my fault Xander can't be normal and have guy friends. I tried to get him together with that guy, Tito, he knows from work, but it just di—"  
"Uh, Ahn," Xander said with a slight smile. "That sentence kind of ended up in a different place then it started, so let's just drop the subject, ok honey?"  
"Oh don't worry, I would embarrass you in front of your friends. Anyway, I know you're not gay, especially with that thing you do when you put your leg on to--,"  
"Door!" Willow said as they neared the door, desperately trying to change the subject. "Who says we open it?" She walked ahead of the two and turned the knob to the Summers' home walking into the small foyer and hanging her coat on the coat rack. Xander and Anya soon followed, imitating her actions and following her into the living where they saw an unexpected sight: Mr. Summers and a strange woman sitting on the sofa opposite Buffy's chair. "Mr. Summers?!" Willow asked excitedly. She recognized him from the various photos around the house, never actually meeting him in person.  
"Mr. Summers?" Xander repeated.  
"Buffy's dad?" Anya asked, only just connecting the last names.  
"You guys must be Willow and Xander, Buffy told me a little about you that summer she visited me in L.A." He shook Xander's hand and gave Willow a quick hug. "And who is this lovely lady?" He inquired as he turned to Anya. He took her hand in his and laid a small kiss on the back of it. At this gesture, Anya flashed a brilliant smile and giggled a bit, obviously enjoying the attention.  
Xander moved over to his bride-to-be and put an arm around her shoulders. "This is my fiancé, Anya," he said quickly, visibly threatened by the smooth gesture.  
"No need to be threatened honey, he's only being polite. Please continue with the compliments."  
Willow finally noticed the other new person in the room, and was surprised to see the slightly familiar face. "Hi," she said as she stuck her hand out to the woman. "I'm Willow, you are?"  
"Hi, I'm Marcela!" Hank's fiancé screeched as she sprang up and reached for Willow's hand. She grabbed Willow in the handshake and brought her into a hug and spinning her around so that Willow was now facing Buffy. What the hell? Willow mouthed to the blond-haired Slayer. At this, Buffy merely shrugged, obviously to resigned to even attempt an answer. Willow struggled out of the hug and pushed herself apart from the woman, being gentle as not to hurt her feelings. Marcela turned to face Anya and grabbed both of her hands jumping up and down. "Hank and I are getting married too!! Oh my God, how funny is that?!"  
"You are!?!?" Anya replied, joining in what appeared to be the "dance of brides-to-be". "Maybe we could have a double-wedding! It would lighten the load so I could spend more money. Wouldn't that be fun?"  
"It'd just be super fun." Buffy said with a fake smile, wiping the tear residue from under her eyes quickly, hoping no one would see. Willow noticed this and remembered Buffy had never reached her Dad with the news of her mother's death, which meant she probably had to relive the tragedy as she told her father of the news.  
"I can't believe Joyce is gone," Hank said disbelievingly. "This was all so sudden; she never even went to the hospital with the flu. I warned her about moving here, but she just wouldn't listen."  
"Hey Dad," Buffy interrupted, not entirely sure she could hear anymore of this without blaming the man who had apparently "warned" her dead mother. "Why don't you and Marcela go upstairs and unpack. You two can have Mom's old room and Will can sleep in mine."  
"Ok kiddo, we'll be back in a jiffy." Hank grabbed his suitcase in one hand and took Marcela's hand in the other leading her up the stairs and into Willow's bedroom, closing the door behind them.  
"Guys, we can't talk about vamps or anything while my Dad is here; he still has no clue I'm the Slayer. The last time I tried to tell him... well let's just say he didn't take it too well. So, everything needs to be kept on the way-down low for a while, at least until my dad leaves."  
"But what if he doesn't leave." Dawn said hopefully. "I mean, wouldn't it be kinda nice to have Dad around again now that, well now that mom's gone. He could move in here and live with us, like he used to."  
"And bring along the Silicon-Wonder too? No thank you. I already want to throw in a caves of vamps and I've known her for, what, 15 minutes. I'd move in with Spike if she lived here."  
"Guys, aren't we jumping to conclusions here?" Xander said with his hands up in front of him. "I'm not saying she's not a little... eager. But this may be good for your dad, getting him to settle down in one place. Plus, let's not forget the fact she could get in here without an invite. Bonus points for that. Let's just be glad she's not evil."  
"That remains to be seen." Anya commented.  
"What?" Xander inquired.  
"She could still be something else: a demon, a witch, a vengeance demon, all of the above. She could be any number of things, but I thought she was quite nice. She seemed lively."  
"Well let's hope she just your garden-variety airhead," Willow said with a smirk. "Because the last thing we need is another demon running around causing the big mayhem."  
"Let's just hope she doesn't try to kill us in our sleep," Dawn said worriedly. "She could be one of those homicidal sex-fiends like Ted was. What if she's a robot!?!? Oh God, she's a robot, isn't she?'  
"She's not a robot," Buffy said exasperatingly. "I think..."  
"Well I'm beat," Xander said with a yawn. "Lets head out Ahn, I have to get up early tomorrow. See you guys tomorrow." Xander took Anya by the hand and led her out the front door, closing it behind them.  
"I think I'll turn in too, Buffy," Dawn said softly. "Don't freak out if you can't open my door. I think I'll barricade it tonight just in case."  
"Night Dawnie'," Willow said with a smile. When Dawn fully disappeared up the stairs, Willow turned to Buffy and put on a concerned face. "You need to talk?"  
"Maybe tomorrow," Buffy replied. "I think I'll just get to sleep tonight."  
"Ok, well I'm heading up. See you in the mornin'"  
"Yep, see you in the A.M." Buffy replied. I hope. 


End file.
